Maeve Mikaelson

Chapter Twenty-Three

*Maeve Miller*

She poured over the books Marcel had snagged for her. Apparently he had a friend who kept all of the records of supernatural in the city, and they were proving to be fascinating.

It honestly made her feel bad for ever insinuating that these witches were less than competent. They had some brilliant magic in their history. Brutal magic, and if that is what she was up against, she needed to brush up on her protection magic.

"Think he will notice if a book or two goes missing? This is fascinating!" She turned the page and continued reading about repeated rituals and restorative magic.

"He is very protective of his books." Marcel dropped another on the table.

"Maybe I could keep this on loan? There is so much more history than I expected." She turned the page. "They have some interesting rituals that could almost be considered earth magic if I modified it." She looked at a diagram. "Look at this." She pointed at the harvest ritual. "The whole base of the ritual is in sacrifice, but that's not exactly what it is. It's a chain spell. The magic needs to flow through each girl and into the earth. If performed correctly, it not only strengthens their magic, but also brings their dead back."

"I thought they had a finite amount of magic. It just gets recycled." Thierry leaned over.

"That's technically true." She tried to explain it. "They can gain magic by welcoming new witches into their coven, but in terms of the spell it's about access. Think of it like a clogged pipe. This cleans it out and allows better access to their ancestral power. It could be adapted to form powerful links. The people who died were close to the ancestors, making it easier for communication."

"It's kinda brutal." Luca looked at her page.

"Oh absolutely." She nodded. "I have noticed a pattern. This is only used in desperate times."

"Why haven't they used it yet?" Thierry leaned forward.

"I don't know. It is a more modern time, maybe they don't feel that it is worth the risk." She bit her cheek and thoughts of Davina floated into her mind. "Maybe they lost it?"

Marcel looked over her shoulder. "They use kids?"

Maeve looked down. "You shouldn't be so surprised. For so many witches, everything and everyone is just a means to an end. To them, the quest for balance will justify anything." She pushed her book away. "I'm going to get some food, we've been going for hours." She stood and hurried out of the room.

She ignored the vampires who likely heard the pounding of her heart. Each of them stared at her, and she tried not to let it bother her. To the vampires of the compound, she was a witch, an enemy to them, and no amount of good deeds would make them trust her. She could understand that.

She looked around the empty kitchen and rested her head on the counter. She had been on edge ever since she got back. She was positive that she had been made, and even if she hadn't it was only a matter of time.

She was stupid to interact with so many coven witches in a day. They talk, and if they mention a strange girl named Maeve they could start looking for her.

Her fingers reached up and played with Elijah's necklace. She kept a slew of protection charms on her person, and she had Luca's life tied to so many artifacts that he was practically immortal for a week. Naturally she couldn't protect herself that way, but she was happy to know her ducks were mostly in a row.

She pulled out a bowl of fruit from the shockingly well stocked fridge and stared out the window. She popped a blueberry in her mouth and a text came through from Damon.